Primary alcohols are readily derivatized and used in a number of major end use markets. For example, they could be reacted with phthalic anhydride and used as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or ethoxylated, sulfated, or sulfonated and used in detergent applications. In general, primary alcohols are much preferred over internal (eg. secondary) alcohols because of the relative ease of the derivatization reactions. This invention may be used to produce primary alcohols from relatively inexpensive C6–C18 alkanes, linear or branched, for example from gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants. Prior art such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,960 teaches the conversion of either alpha or internal olefins to primary alcohols. In addition, recent prior art suggests that the conversion of paraffins to alkyl-halides followed by reaction with a metal oxide may produce predominantly internal alcohols. Examples of such prior art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,462,243, 6,465,699, 6,472,572, 6,486,368, and 6,465,696, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.